Jayaweera Bandara got caught to the trap set by King Vimaladharma. He sent a unit of his army to Badulla, to capture King Vimaladharma. Jayaweera Bandara allowed him to conquer this unit. Then he set another trap to make the Portuguese commander leave Kandy. This was by telling the commander that he should take revenge on King Vimaladharma for the wrong deed he did. The commander suspected this to be a trap. He did not believe these words. Instead he began to observe very keenly all his actions.
In the meantime, people in Kandy began to flock round King Vimaladharma. They even stopped supplying food to the Portuguese. By this time, the Portuguese had kept a huge army in Kandy. They could not stand this food shortage. Gradually, the commander got to know the various vicious actions of Jayaweera Bandara.
His suspicions began to grow. At this point, a relative of Jayaweera Bandara told the commander of a conspiracy hatched by Jayaweera Bandara and King Vimaladharma.
Now the commander’s suspicions were confirmed. He became furious. Jayaweera Bandara was captured and killed. All his wealth was confiscated. The mercenary armies became angry and abandoned the Portuguese. This made the Portuguese lose all support in a foreign land. Immediately they began to march to Colombo. They came as far as Gannoruwa. On this route, King Vimaladharma had set up camp. They surrounded the Portuguese who were on their return march.
The Portuguese
were rendered helpless. King Vimaladharma began to attack them, non- stop. It is with the idea of saving their lives, and not at all with the idea of winning, that the Portuguese had
to fight this time.
Yet, quite a number died
while fighting. Souza
and about another
93 soldiers who were badly wounded, escaped. King Vimaladharma took Dona Catherina and the prisoners and marched to Kandy victoriously.
The people there gave him a warm welcome.
Then King Vimaladharma took
Dona Catherina as his wife and once again became King of Kandy. Back in Colombo, however much Souza was treated for his wounds, he never got better. He suffered for a while and then succumbed to his injuries. He was disgusted with the Portuguese in Colombo. So, before he died, he sent his son to King Vimaladharma.
The Portuguese prisoners that King Vimaladharma kept were employed in the construction of the palace. The soldiers who were badly injured were sent to Colombo.
Those who were sent were 40 in number. Pereira, who was stationed in Colombo, without rendering any assistance to Souza, was sad about the losses suffered by the Portuguese.
Though he tried to erase that shame, he did not succeed. It was a little too late then. As a result of the defeat of the Portuguese, there arose rebellions in the areas which had come under Portuguese rule. An Arachchi named Kangara, who was serving the Portuguese, took advantage of the situation. He became the leader of the rebels.
Officers in Goa got to know of the serious losses suffered by the Portuguese. The Viceroy thought of winning back the lost glory and gaining the land lost as a result of the rebellion.
A new Governor was sent to Colombo for this purpose. He is said to be the most cruel captain, that ever came here. He was none other than Don Jeronimo de Azavedo. He arrived here in the month of January 1595 AD.
He started a campaign to win the people.
Even when the new captain took up duties, the rebellion was not over. After seeing the disabled and disfigured Portuguese soldiers, he developed a hatred towards the Sinhala people. He took his army to suppress the rebellion. These soldiers went and harassed the people and caused a lot of trouble to the people who lived in areas where revolts broke out. |
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